A Jersey City councilman representing the Journal Square area says the county has a deal to buy a swath of land for $8.9 million to build a new courthouse and he is up in arms, saying the project will stifle development and deny the city needed tax funds.

“This has got to be stopped,” said Councilman Rich Boggiano about the property between Oakland Avenue and Cook Street, where he said a developer had planned to build 135 residential units. “They are taking away Newark Avenue to Route 139 and Oakland Avenue to Cook Street. They are taking away a fortune in real estate taxes and stopping us from the development we have been waiting 30 years for.”

Hudson County Freeholder Bill O’Dea said the freeholders would have to approve any purchase and that there are other parcels of land at the location still to be acquired in order to use it to construct a replacement for the antiquated Hudson County Administration Building at 595 Newark Ave., which houses the Superior Courts and other offices.

O’Dea said that even if the purchase goes through, the county would still need to acquire a city-owned parking lot used by the courts between Hoboken Avenue and Route 139, small properties on Hoboken Avenue and properties on Newark Avenue.

“The question is really, since this is the largest parcel, is this the direction the county wants to go in - we have to have all the other ducks lined up,” O’Dea said. “We have to be sure we can get all the properties. You get half the block and not the rest and what happens? There is going to have to be a long discussion on what and how this would move forward.”

Five years ago, the freeholders had an architectural firm study the options for constructing a new courthouse on the plot it currently occupies and the four options were estimated to cost from $291 million to $366 million in 2008 dollars.

A critical difficulty in building a new structure at the same location is finding a functional secure location for the courts to operate in after the current building is demolished and until the new building is constructed.

One option contemplated in the 2008 study would be building the new courthouse in the current courthouse parking lot so that the courts could continue to function during construction.

Boggiano favors building the new courthouse in the parking lot, expanding the parking lot at the Brennan Courthouse and purchasing the private parking lot next to the Administration Building Annex on Pavonia Avenue if necessary.

“It’s ridiculous,” said Boggiano, who said the county has approved $20 million to purchase land for the new courthouse. “Taking away all the property, the development. We want development for neighborhood people.”

Hudson County Assignment Judge Peter Bariso Jr. and his predecessor have been pressing the county to build a new courthouse since 2000.

“The county studies have said since 1975 that they need a new courthouse,” said the county's top judge, who described the inadequacies of the current courthouse as dire. “The county has known this since then. The most recent study identified that block as the most suitable location.”

Boggiano provided the name of an attorney he said is working for the owner of the property but he could not be reached for comment on the status of the negotiations.